Note: This is an ongoing RP story around a battleship that does not exist ingame yet, if you have any problems with this story or advise please PM me, if you see I've gone more than a week without updating this please do me a favor and bug me about it.
Section one: Characters
This area will be updated as the characters enter the story.
Gov. Gruenwald
Governor of the Frankfurt and Munich systems, she is a woman that looks far younger than her age and knows how to use her good looks to her advantage. The driving force behind nearly every major government project in the Munich and Frankfurt systems she is widely seen as the most powerful woman in Rheinland that is outside of the military.
Prince Alaric
The last remnant of the imperial royalty who's power disintegrated long before he was born, he clings to his tittle as if it was a life preserver and he was a drowning man. However despite the complete loss of political power he still commands the considerable coffers of his family. Unfortunately he is not the brightest person and is all to easily persuaded to release his money to any person that can charm him.
Lt. Wilhem
Graduated from the Rheinland Military Academy of New Berlin with top honors in personal combat, everyone who meets him has to agree that he is simply the best when it comes to ground based combat. His most impressive achievement to date is when he single handedly killed 6 heavily armed LWB insurgents that were trying to sabotage a Synth Foods prossessor on Stuttgart using nothing but his bare hands. It needs to be noted however that despite his near god like ability he is worse than useless in fighter combat. In a simulation where he was suppose to lead two Wraths against a pair of Unioner Hawks he not only failed to archive a single hit, but he ended up destroying both of his wingmates when he crashed into them.
Chief Engineer Friedrich
Friedrich is an older man who has served on a large number of gunboats and cruisers, he has excellent experience on Rheinland vessels and knows how they are built inside and out, despite the fact his retirement draws near he is not showing any signs of wanting to let up in his service and will most likely stay on warships until the day he dies.
Things have gone from bad to worse, Rheinland has just begun to celebrate its victory over Kusari when the entire invasion fleet was forced to return to Rheinland in light of a complete revolution. Now a fierce battle rages in the New Berlin system between the forces that left to Kusari and a force that consists of Rheinland Military and Rheinland police pilots that have decided to support the revolution supported by a sizable Liberty fleet, and the Battleship Thor is caught in the middle.
*Boom*
"Order flights Theta and Beta to take out the blasted torpedo bombers!"
"No use sir, Theta has been completely destroyed and Beta wing is pinned down."
Another explosion rocks the ship.
"Sir! The engine just took a direct hit!"
"Bring the primary turrets to bear on the nearest cruiser."
"No use sir, primary turrets aren't responding"
"Then bring the secondary turrets to bear on the target"
"No can do sir, they are just barely keeping the enemy gunboats at bay."
More explosions, this time sending shock waves across the ship, several crew are tossed onto the ground and a few command consoles short out and die.
"Verdammt, flak turrets are off line!"
The first officer turns to the captain, "Sir, with the flak turrets off line we will be completely open to bomber attacks"
"I know, helmsman bring us about, lets get out of here in one piece"
"No go captain, that last torp hit the reactor core, primary power is failing."
"Secondary turrets are off line, tetriary turrets offline, docking bay two offline, sensors fai-"
"Enough! Tell me what we do have!"
"Three defense turrets, sir."
"Set them to cover our escape. This is the captain to all hands, abandon ship. Repeat, abandon ship. Come, let us take the shuttle, we don't have much time"
A new alarm starts blaring across the ship, the crew begins to make a hasty retreat to the escape shuttles. On the bridge, the captain is the last person to leave. He takes one look at the bridge and is sure that he will be the last thing to command it.
Two weeks later
The ALG salvaging ship TX-436,
surveying the remains of the infested Rheinland fleet
"This sector is done, nothing out of the ordinary"
"Hey, Klaus, look at that."
"What do you see?"
"It looks like an intact battleship"
"Wait, let me see that scanner, you're right'
"What do you think we should do, all of the other ships are in pieces."
"We're bringing it back intact, send for a couple heavy lifters to drag this thing back to the staging area. We'd better get a big reward for finding this baby."
Gov. Gruenwalds armoured transport,
outside of Augsberg Orbital Colony, Munich system.
"This is Rheinland Police Alpha one to Augsberg Orbital Colony, requesting permission to dock."
"Copy that, your request to dock is granted, docks 1, 2 and 3 are ready for you and your escorts."
"Thank you, Rheinland Police Alpha one out"
Augsberg Orbital Colony,
residential wing #7
Governor Gruenwald walked down the hall while her two police escorts followed closely. The halls were covered in green metal with blue lighting, customary for all Rheinland stations, a few Rheinland dignitary's could be seen meandering down the hall. Gruenwald held very little respect for them. Most were typical upper class, removed from reality.
Oh well, she thought, they do have there uses, just like everything else.
She stopped at one door, this one was not quite like the others, it held the symbol of the old Rheinland Imperial Royal line, this was the only place one could see that symbol outside of history books and some old artifacts.
He hasn't changed a bit, that should make things simpler.
She turned to the guards giving them the wait outside gesture before activating the door bell, a few moments later the door opened revealing a luxuriously furnished room, again in the fashion of the old royalty, and in front of the door there stood a young, athletic blond man, dressed in the blue and gold dress that has been used by the upper class and politicians since way back to the old empire.
He made a move to talk but Gruenwald simply walked in, brushing by him before he could react and sitting on a chair in an all to casual manner. The young man was only taken about by this intrusion for a second before a small smile crossed his lips. "Brash as always by dear, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit too?"
Gruenwald simple smiled, for this man was Prince Alaric, the last of a dying breed in Rheinland. They've known each other for quite some time now and Alaric was clearly fond of here. Unfortunately for him, she returned the sentiment not in the slightest, not that she let him know that, he did have is uses after all.
"Now why should I need a reason to visit you?" She said with a slightly playful tone.
"We both know that you are a very busy woman and that my charm alone, however great, can not drag you away from my work."
"Oh, I assure you, I look for any excuse to come see you." At this point she was simply lying through her teeth.
Alaric chuckled, "Well then, what was your excuse this time?"
"Oh, just a little matter. You see I am collecting resources I need for a project..."
"Let me guess, its an expensive one and you want to dip into the Imperial coffers?"
"Why, yes"
"Just out of curiosity, what is this project exactly?"
"Refitting an old Bismark"
"A Bismark? Hmmm.... I don't really think I can spare the mon-"
During the conversation Gruenwald got up off here chair and closed very close to Alaric, she put her finger over his lips to quiet him. "If you do this, you will not only make me very happy, but I will see to it that your name is placed on a ship." Of course she didn't specify which ship, but she does know of an ALG toxic waste transport under construction at Alster Shipyards that still needs a name.
"Well, in that case consider it done." Alaric said on a soft tone, whist slowly moving in for a kiss, at first Gruenwald showed no sign of resistance until she dodged him at the last second, heading straight for the door.
"Excellent, A Daumann rep will will be here shortly to arrange for the credit transfer." She paused at the door for a second, looking back at him with a look of lust. "Don't disappoint me, handsome." At that, the door closed and she proceeded back to the docking bay, her two guards falling into step behind her.
After all, this was only the tip of the iceberg, much work needed to be done.
Gov. Gruenwalds armoured transport,
on approach to Schatten Research Facility
"This is Shatten Research Facility to Rheinland Armoured transport convoy, submit you clearence code immediately or leave the area at once."
"This is Rheinland Police Alpha One, submitting clearance code now."
"Received your transmition, what is your business here?"
"We are transporting a high ranking government official to an important meeting."
"Copy that, docking bay three will be ready for you, but your escorts will have to wait outside, you are cleared to enter the minefield now, we are sending you navigation information that will allow safe passage."
"Thank you, Police Alpha One out." The pilot turned to his co-pilot, "You'd better go back there and tell her we are no approach, you know she wants to see the ship"
The co-pilot nodded and got up, taking the small ladder to the cargo bay, its a well know fact that an armoured transports interior can vary from anything from a room fit for a King or the inside of a water tank, this was leaning more to the former.
"Ma'am, we are almost there"
Gruenwald simply nodded and followed him back up the ladder, they were just entering the pocket, Schatter stood as a stark giant in the empty space, largely built out of the remains of a secret shipyard built by the nomads during the war, it was an impressive structure and a Scientists dream. One of its most promenent features was two dry docks, one had an assortment of Liberty Defenders, Rheinland Valkyries, Kusari Dragons and a handful of Rheinland Gunboats, all in assorted states of destruction and all enhanced by the Nomads during the war. The other dry dock held something much more impressive however, a Rheinland Battleship, its hull scorched by multiple laser and torpedo strikes, turrets still poised to fire on the targets they had been tracking over a decade ago before they lost power.
The pilot was making his approach slower then normal to allow Grunwald plenty time to soak the sight in, on the very front sides of the ship one could barely make out the lettering "Thor", this was her project, but the ship was over a decade out of date even if it hadn't been extensively damaged, the ship lacked shields or armour beyond its standard hull which had become standard on all new ships, all of its reactors were in a non-functional state and more so it needed a crew, she knew that she would have to collect a crew before she could even begin to think about the re-construction process. She wasn't here for the ship, she was here for a member of the crew.
The ship finally docked and Gruenwald left without her usual escort, they would hardly be welcomed here.
A short ways away there was a tall, large man dressed in a military hazard suit with a Daumann Shredder at his side. Farther off there were about six other men dressed in regular uniforms, all of them carried a rifle that she could identify as Daumann Devastators, both were the best weapons one could buy in Rheinland.
The large man snapped into a salute at her approach and said "Lieutenant Wilhem, at your service."
"I am not a member of the Military or police, so a salute is hardly necessary"
"Sorry ma'am, its just that I'm not used to Governors arranging to have meetings with me, so whats all of this about?"
"I would rather we discus in private."
"Of course, if you will just follow me."
They both walked a short ways down a hall into an empty bar, none of the troopers made a move to follow, they knew he was in no danger from her even if she was an undercover LSF agent.
"No one ever comes to the bar at this time, everyone is always either sleeping or on assignment so we should have a good deal of privacy here, now my question still stands of course."
Gruenwald meandered slowly over to a window, "You are aware that things are bad in Rheinland, the economy has recovered a little bit but whatever money there is to spare is always being sent to the military or police thanks to Liberty aggression and increasing pirate activity, and we will need to cut costs where ever we can."
"I see, but what does this have to with me?"
"As I understand the Battleship that is currently residing here, the Thor, is virtually combat ready. It survided the battle for New Berlin because early in the fight some lucky torpedo hits damaged its reactors causing them to shut down, with very little damage to the rest of the ship. Infact as I'm told all it needs are new reactors and some retrofitting and it will be able to go toe to toe with a modern Rheinland Battleship."
"I still don't see what this has to do with me."
"I need a crew to man it, I need a chief of security and you were the perfect candidate."
"I'm not so sure, after all I am needed here."
"Honestly, when was the last time anyone boarded this station? This station has so many defences that you just end up sitting around and wasting space. Liberty is going to send its best commandos to the front line and we will need to send our best out there to counter them. You will be going head to head with Libertys best and I know they won't stand a chance against you."
"Will I get to pick my own security staff?"
"Of course"
He paused for a moment, thinking, "Okay, I'm in."
"Excellent, you won't regret it. Start to make preparations for your transfer but don't pack in your bags just yet, I still need to gather the rest of the crew."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"No, thank you. Now if you would be so kind as to escort me back to my ship?"
Gov. Gruenwalds armoured transport,
on approach to The Ring
Things were going well for her so far, but only just so. Since her talk with Wilhem she has been spending quite some time preforming here usual duty's in both Frankfurt and Munich, but that was all done for now and she could get back to her plan.
In her looking for suitable personnel she came across someone who may be perfect for the job, one Herr Friedrich. He was a quietly accomplished man who has seen much action on the front line and was fortunately currently between ships. She had to take the opportunity to recruit him now or loose her chance forever.
She felt the ship more smoothly into the Rings docking bay and knew that it was time to put on her most charming face, since this wouldn't be easy...
Oder Shipyard,
New Berlin System.
Gruenwald walked down a catwalk overlooking one of the factory units of the Ring that supplied components to Oder. She could see that at the middle of the catwalk there was an elevator that could take her to the control deck of the dry dock, she stepped inside of the elevator and moments later she stepped onto the docks command deck.
Looking around she could see various video screen of the drydock, looked like nothing major was being built today, mostly just fighters and a couple of Gunboats were being slapped together.
She approached the nearest man who didn't look to busy and asked him where she could find Friedrich. He eyed her for a moment before noticing her Governors badge and pointed her in the direction of Drop Hatch one, where they readied parts of new ships for instalment on the ships in the drydocks.
Inside of the Drop Hatch she could see two Daumann dock workers and a man in a military hazard suit who was no doubt Friedrich working on a Valkyries engine. She saw Friedrich rush over and grab a welder from one of the workers.
"No!" he said, "Don't do that! If you do the engine will blow up the second someone enters cruise speed! Here I'll do it since you can't seem to do it right."
She determined that his mood would not improve with time, so she decided that now was as good of a time as any, she begin to approach him.
"Excuse me, Herr Friedrich?"
He replied to her without even looking up "Yes that's me"
"I've been looking at your personnel logs and I-"
Done what he was doing, Friedrich got up and walked to a nearby computer consul, brushing by Gruenwald. "Look Miss, I'm a busy man so spit it out or get out of my way."
"I need some one take command of the repairs of a Bismark."
He continued without stopping his work or looking up, "A Bismark? What would I get out of it."
"You would become its Chief Engineer."
This got his attention, he stopped playing with the computer and turned to face her, "Chief Engineer or a Bismark? Not that is an interesting proposition. Whats the catch?"
"The catch is you'd have to fix it."
"Fix it?"
"I'll be honest with you, its a relic from the Nomad war, it survived, if only by the slimmest definition of the word, and has been stored at a classified location ever since. It's old, its reactors need fixing and a complete retrofitting."
"I'm not sure..."
"Please, you'd not only be serving on a Bismark, but it would be a Bismark you would helped made, what I understand has been a personal dream of yours"
He had a silent moment of thinking before saying. "Heh, you know how to get to me, okay I'm in."
"Excellent, I'll arrange for your transfer imminently, that is if you're not busy here"
"Nothing they can't do without me, lets go then. I want to see this ship...."
![[Image: GovGruenwald.jpg]](http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/Dakkar_Nemo/GovGruenwald.jpg)
![[Image: PrinceAlaric.jpg]](http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/Dakkar_Nemo/PrinceAlaric.jpg)
![[Image: LtWilhem.jpg]](http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/Dakkar_Nemo/LtWilhem.jpg)
![[Image: scienceofficer.jpg]](http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/Dakkar_Nemo/scienceofficer.jpg)